Its Time
by lovelesslybeloved
Summary: Lovino isn't sure about what he wants in life but he is sure about one thing. Antonio deserves the best and Lovino will do anything to give Antonio the best. HighschoolAU with minor UA (Universe Alterations) Its Romano so Swearing is in there. ONESHOT! Notes at the bottom.


Lovino walked down the halls of the academy absently, not really there mentally. The school uniform was loose around his body and his messenger bag bounced lightly against his thigh. He had his sleeve pushed up near his elbows and the past month's concert bands around his wrists. That one stupid piece of hair, not really a cowlick, more like a curl all its on bounced beside his head as he walked.  
Classes were out for the day and being it Friday he was debating between which live concerts he would go to this weekend. A sharp shoe squeak and a slam against the lockers broke Lovino's thought process and he startled in the direction of the noise. He ran down the hallway lightning quick towards the sound and moved even faster at the dark brown hair and flash of bright green eyes.  
"Antonio!" Lovi yelled and slammed into the British student tearing into the Spaniard with everything he had.  
"Lovino?" Antonio looked started through is swelling eye as the tinier Italian punched at the Brit under him.

_ So this is what you meant _

Lovino straddled the British man, Arthur?- underneath him and pulled back his fist, "What were you doing to Antonio?!" he yelled.  
The Brit sputtered a moment and Lovino cursed loudly as he was lifted and tossed off Arthur and down the hall, landing hard on his back and sliding down the hall way. He jumped up and screamed at Alfred. "AL?! What the fuck! He was beating on Antonio?!" Lovi screamed rushing up as Alfred helped Arthur to his feet.  
"Lovi when is that different? If Arthur isn't beating on Francis then wouldn't it be safe to assume he is beating on Tonio? You know Francis was out today because he wasn't at our music lesson today so…. Safe to assume Arthur is picking a fight with Antonio." Alfred said pushing Arthur off down the hallway while he stood to talk to Lovi and Antonio. Lovi glanced at Antonio and winced a bit. The Spaniard looked horrible, his swollen eye was beginning to bruise and the cut on his lip was bleeding. His clothes looked disheveled and over all Antonio had had better days.  
Sighing softly Lovi moved towards Antonio who just smiled up at Lovi lightly. "Hi-ya Roma!" he greeted cheerfully enough.  
"Shut up Bastard." Lovino murmured and leaned down to help Antonio stand up and to get him cleaned up the best he could. Alfred shook his head with a soft smile before going after Arthur to calm him down before he picked a fighter that was more than he could handle. Like with Ludwig or Ivan.  
Lovi helped Antonio to the men's bathroom at the academy and leaned him against one of the sinks in the row of many. He dampened a cloth and set to work removing some of the blood from his lips. "Stupid why didn't you walk the other way when Arthur was coming?" Lovi asked quietly not looking up at those green eyes.  
"Because that stupid Brit needs to learn he isn't the biggest badass kid here! Lovi if you had been in my position with almost anyone else you would have fought too." Antonio explained heatedly. There were few things that pissed Antonio off, but Arthur was one of them.  
Lovino remained silent as he finished cleaning Antonio up from the brawl. Antonio watched Lovi and equally remained silent. Both lost in thoughtful consideration. Lovino pulled away finally, content with Antonio's not so roughed up look. Antonio looked up at Lovi then and sighed softly. He looked so tired and older, despite only being three years older then the Italian.  
"I'm so done Roma…" Antonio said, his head hanging. "I don't know what I'm going to do in a few months when I graduate. My family can't afford college and I have no idea what kind of job I'd be good at…" he murmured his hand finding its way into his hair awkwardly.  
Lovi stayed quiet and looked at his converse awkwardly. Antonio's family wasn't poor but it was big and when you had to support that many children, often there wasn't enough money for one child to do something specific. Lovi was grateful that his family was a bit smaller and separated. His dad had taken Lovi when they were much younger, Feli and the others stayed with their mother. Lovi however was aware that despite being able to go to college he probably wouldn't. It wasn't that he didn't want to and more along the lines of he didn't apply himself enough to actually achieve the grade point average for a college. He was too interested in music. Feli did his painting thing but Lovi loved music and he wasn't too bad at it. However compared to Antonio now, Lovi felt bad and understood feeling like he didn't have a future. Lovi looked up at Antonio after a moment and clapped his shoulder gently. "Don't worry about it. Things'll work out eventually." Lovi explained.

_ When you said that you were spent_

_ And now its time to build from the bottom of the pit_

Antonio smiled at Lovi and that smile shouldn't have been what set everything in point for Lovi but it was. Somehow that smile made everything make sense and Lovi's eyes widened.  
"Yea….don't worry Antonio. Things'll work out. You just focus on deciding about what you want to do okay? Work towards that and I'm sure things'll happen." Lovi explained with a sort of out of it voice.

_ Right to the Top_

_ Don't hold back_

Lovi's mind was already racing with the ideas in his mind. The plans he was formulating. He rushed home and sat down at his desktop monitor turning the monitor on. The computer hummed to life and he set to work writing his dad an email explaining the things he wanted to do and why. He kept it short and sweet and to the point and didn't bullshit his dad about the situation.  
The reply back came back sooner then he had anticipated as Lovi was packing a duffle back of clothes and other things he wanted or needed.  
Lovi read the email, quickly scanning for a no or a that's stupid. However there was only one line concerning his father's thoughts on Lovi's project:  
**About time you figured things out for yourself.**

Lovi smiled and read the rest of the letter. Attached to the email was a document that seemed like it had been typed ages ago. It was a withdraw letter from his father and signed. Lovi grinned and printed the document out. The email explained about a separate account set up for Lovi and that the bank information would be in the bottom drawer of his father's work desk. Lovi wasn't particularly close to his father however when his father supported something Lovi did, he supported him 150%.  
Lovi finished packing and made his decisions about his weekend plans.

Monday came and Lovi walked into the academy in jeans and a t-shirt. He walked to the front desk in the main office and handed the secretary his withdraw notice. The woman looked startled but made note. Lovi signed out of the school for the last time.

_ Packing my bags and giving the academy a rain check_

When Lovi left the office Antonio was standing outside waiting for him.

"Where are you going Roma?" Antonio asked straightening as he approached the Italian. Lovi began to move, walking out of the building. Antonio followed him anyway.

"I'm leaving" was all he said to Antonio as he walked towards his car parked in the visitor's lot of the academy.  
"Leaving?" Antonio stopped walking for a moment started, "Where to? For what! Lovi you're barely sixteen! What are you going to do!?" Antonio asked incredulously. "Think about what you're leaving behind! Your friends! Family! A bright future! You're smart Lovino! You could do anything you wanted to do." Antonio tried fruitlessly.  
Lovi stopped and whirled around to look at Antonio. "I can do anything? Be anything I wanted? Control my future?" he asked curiously.  
Antonio nodded hopefully. He couldn't loose his friend, not now when everything else around him was falling apart.

"Then let me walk away here Antonio. This is me taking my future by the throat and making it what I want." Lovino explained and pleaded with his eyes for the Spaniard not to make an issue of this more then he already had.  
Antonio paused looking at Lovi and nodding slowly and sadly. He gave his best smile for Lovi though then and Lovi actually had to turn away from him.

_ I don't ever wanna let you down_

Lovi got in his car. The new bank card in his wallet. His duffle bag in the backseat, and his guitar sat in the case in the front seat beside him. He was in the front ready for something that he wasn't sure wouldn't be bad but it had to be better then where he was going now. He pulled out from the space and watched Antonio shrink away in his rear view mirror. He drove through the town not really appreciating it but already uncertain of being away from it.

_ I don't ever wanna leave this town  
cause after all…._

He recalled many places where he'd gone to see live concerts, places he'd hung out with Antonio and consequently Antonio's friends. The late night runs to seven eleven and all those days of simply sitting around strumming along his guitar. Things were easier then but this wasn't meant to be easy and this wasn't meant to be simple because this was something he _wanted.  
_  
_ This city never sleeps tonight  
Its time to begin isn't it  
I get a little bit bigger than then  
I'll admit I'm just the same as I was  
Now don't you understand  
That I'm never changing who I am_

Lovi moved to the bigger city about a hundred miles from his hometown. At first Lovi admitted his choice had been stupid. He had left home with no place to stay pre-arranged. He hadn't graduated from high school yet, so barely anywhere would hire him. Not that it was an issue initially. Lovi merely used the money his father had set up to stay at a hotel. However that drained the money quickly and soon Lovi was on the streets performing for money for food for the day. It was rough but he made enough to live.

_ So this is where you fell_

Soon things began difficult and finally he sold his guitar off to live. It was the last straw that knocked him back to his feet. He used the money to buy a nice outfit and began going to auditions for companies.

_ And I am left to sell…_

At first no one would even look at him. He was subpar talent wise and was a single man with no back up band to create a full sound. Lovi was at the brink of turning back to home and starting over. It would suck and be hard but what other choice was he facing? He slept on a park bench. His car was long gone. He hadn't eaten in three days and the police were constantly harassing him as a public disturbance. Finally, winter was pulling in and things were getting cold. He wouldn't make it at this rate unless he really did turn back to go home.

_ The path to Heaven runs through miles of clouded hell_

Lovi had a moment, a flash of Antonio smiling again back when things were easy. Back when things were simple. Lovi's determination flared. He couldn't give up. He had a goal and he would achieve it.

_ Right to the Top  
_

Lovi got up from the bench and set to work trying to find a normal job to support himself till he could get a gig with a company to play for.

_ Don't look back_

After that Lovi rarely thought of home. He threw himself into a construction job and it was tough work and long hours but it paid well enough and soon he had a place to live. He bought a new guitar. He still lived in shitty clothes but he had food, a roof and his guitar. He didn't really need much else at this point.

_ Turn it into rags and giving the commodities a rain check_

Lovi got a call a few days later from one of the auditions that he had written off as a failure. His eyes widened when they invited him back to play with a drummer and a bass guitarist to see how they'd mix. He jumped on the opportunity and within a few weeks he was setting up the new amps at his first live concert.

_ I don't ever wanna let you down  
I don't ever wanna leave this town  
Cause after all…  
This city never sleeps tonight  
Its time to begin isn't it  
I get a little bit bigger than then  
I'll admit I'm just the same as I was  
Now don't you understand  
That I'm never changing who I am_

Lovi's father had come to the live, at Lovi's request of course and Lovi grinned at him after the event when they sat down at a table in a nice restaurant and caught up with each other. Towards the end of the evening his father chuckled softly.  
"What?" Lovi asked incredulously. He certainly had done nothing or said anything to warrant the noise.  
"You haven't changed." His father shrugged softly. "I somehow thought that all this work and fame would change you but you're still the same." His father smiled proudly. "It's a good thing for you."  
Lovi rolled his eyes, "Dad I'm not changing, and I'm just making things happen finally. Sorry it took me so long to get things together." Lovi explained leaning back in his chair.  
"Yes indeed. Its been almost two years now since you left." His father explained and Lovi jumped a bit at the words. Two years? Had it really been that long since he had been home? Since he had seen Feli? His mother? His…..Antonio.  
"Do…. Do you know how Antonio is? Antonio Carriedo?" he asked carefully.  
His father paused a moment to consider what he should tell his son. "Well….His parents split up and he took on his mother's name. He now goes by Antonio Fernandez Carriedo legally." His father began then continued after a moment. "That was hard on him. It happened shortly after you left."  
Lovi frowned but nodded as his father pulled out a pack of envelopes and set them on the table then pushed them towards his son.  
"Since then he has written you nearly every day. But since he didn't have your address, don't worry I didn't tell him you were homeless for a while there, he simply sent them to me for me to give to you when I saw you. I'm sure there are a few still at the house that were delivered in my absence." He explained lightly as he sat back. "Do with those what you want but just….just stay true to you okay Lovino?" his father requested simply.  
Lovino nodded slowly and considered what Antonio could possibly write to him every single day. It was…mind boggling to say simply. He grabbed the envelopes and pocketed them into his coat. He thanked his father and they parted ways for a while.

_ Its time to begin isn't it  
I get a little bit bigger than then  
I'll admit I'm just the same as I was  
Now don't you understand  
That I'm never changing who I am_

Without even realizing it, it was another two years till he made it back to that small town where he grew up. He had seen his father a few times and Antonio's letters had drifted off after another year from the first time he had seen his father. Lovino was twenty now and a pretty big deal in the musical world. His band was playing at the half time show next month and his records were selling faster then the companies could produce them in some instances. He was doing well and now he had a small bit of business to cover now that he was able to and had the time off to do it.

He walked towards Antonio's old house. He had opted not to drive in town though he could have. Somehow the idea of driving the expensive fancy car here seemed wrong. He couldn't do it.

_ This road never looked so lonely _

When he turned down the last street to Antonio's house he stopped frozen. The house was gone. Charred grounds around the ashes of Antonio's home painted a clear picture to Lovino what had happened here.

_ The house doesn't burn down slowly._

"It happened two weeks ago" his father called from behind him. He walked up to his son carefully. "No one was hurt or killed." He said quickly.

_ To Ashes…._

Lovi looked at his father quickly, "Where is he?" he asked.

His father smiled, "Your room" was all he said and recognition ignited in Lovi's eyes. He took off running to his family's house, his Father's house where his room was. He was breathless as he slammed in through the front door glancing wildly. "Antonio?" he called.

_ To ashes…. _

Antonio appeared at the top of the stairs from the left doorway, Lovi's old room. Lovi could have physically sagged in relief but the look on Antonio's face said that words needed to be had.  
Lovi moved upstairs quickly and stood before Antonio carefully considering him. "We need to talk" was all he said and gestured to his room. Antonio nodded and led the way to the room.

_ Its time to begin isn't it  
I get a little bit bigger than then  
I'll admit I'm just the same as I was  
Now don't you understand  
That I'm never changing who I am_

Antonio stood in the center of the room as Lovino glanced around the familiar surroundings. Antonio had literally not changed a thing about the room and it was a bit odd to be there. Things he could have sworn were big or decent sized now seemed so tiny.  
"I'm sorry" Lovino began and Antonio raised a hand to cut him off from finishing another word.  
"You've nothing to say sorry for. You were pursuing a talent. Your goal, and I wasn't about to stop you then from doing it. I certainly won't stop you now….I'm just…I'm confused.." Antonio began before he moved to sit down on the old bed.  
"You…you got my letters. You knew my address. You even knew my phone number. But you…you never got a hold of me. Feli told me when you called him or wrote him. Eventually even your father started to tell me when you two would talk. But….You never contacted me once. In these four years. No one would explain anything to me either. No one would tell me about you! I didn't know where you were or what happened to you and….and…I thought I was important to you….I thought…..I thought we were important…" Antonio shook his head. "Anyway it doesn't matter. You came for the rest of your stuff here I guess?" he asked and gestured to a few boxes in the corner of things Lovi had left here four years ago.  
Lovi shook his head. "I didn't come here for that. I can here for you." Lovino explained softly glancing away nervously.  
"I ah….I didn't contact you because I couldn't. If I even entertained the idea of writing a letter or picking up the phone my resolve shook to stay put and live fast to my ideas. I left four years ago not to hurt you or my family or to ruin my future. I left to make something of myself with the only talent I knew I had better then anyone else. My Music. And when I began to think of what could come of that, the money mostly, I began to consider what I could do with it. At the time you were so stuck here. You couldn't go to college you couldn't leave…I wanted to be able to take you away and let you do what you wanted. Go to college if you wanted." Lovino swallowed thickly and looked down at his converse again and a flash of what felt like life times ago went through him and this time, he lifted his head and looked to Antonio.  
"Antonio I'm sorry I left. Sorry I didn't explain then. Sorry I didn't explain while I was away. I'm sorry I'm late about all this. But…I c-care about you." Lovino's hands came up and pulled at his hair, shaking his head. "N-NO! I mean…er… I l-l-l-love you." He mumbled his hands falling uselessly to his sides. "And…and I mean…if..if you want nothing to do with me that's fine! I got along all right by myself so far! B-but…I'd….I'd really appreciate the chance to have you around….But…But if you don't…Here." Lovino held out a packet of information.  
Antonio leaned forward and took it opening it up to peak in it.  
"It's a bank account. Your name on it, my money fueling it. More than enough for you to go anywhere and do anything you want." Lovino explained quietly as he finally looked away. "I…I wanted to be able to do that for you before I came and saw you again. So regardless on how you feel about me….take that." Lovino said seriously as he turned towards his door.  
"Keep anything else in here you want. I don't need or want it anymore." Lovino dismissed as he stood in the doorway.  
"I'm sorry." He murmured again and left the room quietly.  
Antonio sat on the bed looking at the packet. That was a lot of zeros. Certainly more than Antonio had ever thought he'd have access to. He swallowed and glanced around the room that previously had belonged to Lovi. He stood up and threw the packet on the bed before dashing out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Lovi was already out the front door and climbing in a car to head to the airport. He had originally been planning to stay here longer but there wasn't much point if Antonio wasn't interested in talking to him.  
Antonio ran out the front door and slammed into the car on accident, his old shoes sliding on the concrete.  
"Lovino!" Antonio called and Lovi opened the door quickly sliding back out.  
"Antonio you idiot! What did you do?!" he yelled moving to slid the Spaniard away carefully and look the man over. "You idiot you're always getting yourself hurt." Lovi rolled his eyes as he finally stood back.  
Antonio looked at him a long moment before smiling and nodding. "You haven't changed a bit Roma."  
Lovi's eyes widened at the nickname he hadn't heard it over four years. "A-Antonio?" he mumbled.  
"Roma let me come with you. I'm not particularly good at anything and I really haven't done anything with me life. But…. If you want me around even when you're big and famous…I don't know... I must be good to you. " Antonio explained awkwardly.

_ Its time to begin isn't it  
I get a little bit bigger than then  
I'll admit I'm just the same as I was  
Now don't you understand  
That I'm never changing who I am_

Lovi's eyes were wide but he nodded slowly. "Tonio!" he grinned widely and hugged the other quickly. "I…I love you." He mumbled again and found it easier when the other man wrapped his arms around Lovi.  
"I love you too Roma. Always have." He murmured, holding the Italian close, refusing to be left again.

* * *

So that was it! This was my big jump back into fanfiction for a bit. I suppose in a way I never stopped since I RPed fandom stuff all the time. And someday I might edit those together into a story but for now it'll be one shots like these. Anyway, credits!  
The song is Its Time by Imagine Dragons. I don't own any rights to it. I simply really enjoy the song and it fit a decent plot idea that I entertained.  
The characters are based off of Himaruya's Axis Powers Hetalia.  
Lastly this story is mine. I wrote it and thus it is mine!  
It is however dedicated to the Spain I cosplay with.  
This is for you Espana~


End file.
